Conor Glassey’s Draft Overview

Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Danny Hultzen, Francisco Lindor, and Bubba Starling are in the Pirates' mix for the first overall pick, writes Glassey. Pirates scouting director Greg Smith told Glassey he's more prepared for this first overall pick than he was when he drafted Matt Anderson with the Tigers in 1997. There is no obvious number one overall talent, in Glassey's opinion. High school pitcher Dylan Bundy could be a longshot for first overall, writes Baseball Prospectus' Kevin Goldstein in this free article. Goldstein also ranks his top 20, so be sure to check that out.

One NL scouting director told Glassey he hasn't seen this kind of depth in a draft at any point in the 2000s. This draft features a lot of high-velocity pitchers, though it's light on impact college bats and up-the-middle players. Glassey notes that "many premium players are from non-traditional states." One such example a little further down the draft might be Ben Roberts, a high school outfielder out of Montana who participated in his first showcase recently.

2011 could be the last year without a hard slotting system, prompting some to assume teams will go crazy spending. One NL scouting director Glassey spoke to expressed skepticism about that possibility.

Rays scouting director R.J. Harrison echoes the velocity sentiment in this Bill Chastain article for MLB.com: "This is the most guys I've ever seen who are throwing mid-90s." The Rays have 12 picks between #24 and #89, and Rays executive vice president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman told Chastain the team has "planned in advance for this Draft and the expected financial outlay for this many players in the top of the Draft."